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Strategic IT Integration: Unleashing the Power of Windows Server 2019

Windows Server is an operating system developed by Microsoft, designed to run services and applications within corporate networks. It facilitates centralized management of users, data, network access, and more.

This operating system serves as the foundation for building reliable and productive IT infrastructure for companies. Critical applications such as Active Directory, Exchange Server, SQL Server, System Center, and others operate on this platform.

Let’s delve into what Windows Server entails and why it makes sense for companies to upgrade to the 2019 version.

 

Advantages of Windows Server 2019

The Windows Server 2019 has brought numerous enhancements in security, virtualization capabilities, and support for cutting-edge technologies. Upgrading to it provides companies with the following benefits:

• Enhanced security for corporate data.
• Ability to leverage advanced tools like containerization and orchestration.
• Higher reliability and scalability of IT infrastructure.
• Support for the latest hardware platforms (including AI accelerators).
• Simplified migration from outdated platforms.

Let’s explore the key features of this version in more detail.

 

Security Enhancements

Data security is a critical aspect of any business. Windows Server 2019 is equipped with advanced security tools to protect corporate infrastructure. These include:

1. Windows Defender Advanced Threat Protection is a comprehensive system for detecting and responding to advanced attacks targeting memory and the OS kernel. It identifies anomalous activity at deep levels, enabling quick incident response and investigations.
2. Windows Defender ATP Exploit Guard blocks suspicious activity commonly observed during malware deployment or system intrusion. This component replaces the outdated EMET package, extending its protective capabilities.
3. Windows Defender Application Control allows running only Microsoft-approved applications and those from trusted sources by default. It blocks the execution of unknown files capable of bypassing code integrity checks.

Additionally, the capability to encrypt Hyper-V virtual machines using Host Guardian Service technology has been introduced, protecting them from unauthorized access.

Thus, upgrading to Windows Server 2019 significantly enhances the security of corporate data and the entire IT infrastructure against cyberattacks.

 

Simplifying Data Migration

One of the main challenges in modernizing IT infrastructure is the need to transfer data from outdated systems. This process is often labor-intensive and unsafe.

The Storage Migration Service in Windows Server 2019 radically simplifies this task. This service facilitates the easy transfer of files and system settings, even from systems dating back 20 years, to a new OS or Azure cloud storage.

It operates as follows:

1. Inventory data and metadata on old servers.
2. Copy all files and folders to the new system using a secure SMB protocol.
3. Transfers data access rights, network settings, and other critical configurations.
4. The new servers assume the identity and functionality of the old ones, seamlessly for users.

Thus, companies can fully transfer data from even highly outdated Windows Server 2003 to modern and supported versions within a few hours, without interrupting business processes or employee access to resources.

 

Enhanced Container Support

Virtualization and application containerization technologies have become mainstream in modern IT. They enable flexible scaling of workloads and increase service resilience.

Windows Server 2019 includes powerful tools for working with containers:

• Support for group Managed Service Accounts (gMSA) for secure access from containers to network resources.
• The ability to assign devices (GPIO, USB, etc.) inside containers is crucial for the Internet of Things.
• Implementation of the Kubernetes orchestration platform for managing containerized applications.
• Increased performance through the integration of a proprietary Linux kernel.

This opens up new possibilities for building resilient cloud-native applications.

 

Clustering and High Availability

The failure of any server or service can lead to significant financial losses for a business. Therefore, Windows Server 2019 has introduced several innovations for building highly available systems.

Cluster Sets technology combines multiple storage clusters and computational resources for shared resource utilization. This enables flexible load distribution and virtual machine allocation among different servers, significantly increasing fault tolerance.

Additionally, remote server file resources can be used for clustering quorum, simplifying the deployment of high-availability configurations. Moreover, it’s now possible to migrate clusters between domains without data loss.

All these improvements greatly simplify the construction of reliable IT systems capable of withstanding hardware or software failures.

 

Additional Technologies

In addition to the described features, Windows Server 2019 offers other useful capabilities:

• System Insights analytics system. Using machine learning, it analyzes performance metrics and predicts the need for computational resources.
• Windows Subsystem for Linux, allowing the execution of native Linux applications for developers.
• ReFS compression and deduplication utility substantially saves disk space.
• Enhanced Windows Admin Center interface for managing IT infrastructure.

These components provide additional opportunities for more efficient IT and business-user operations.

 

Conclusion

Windows Server 2019 significantly optimizes the operation of IT departments and enhances the value of IT for businesses. Implementing this platform with advanced technologies enables companies to make leaps in performance, reliability, and information security systems.

Therefore, organizations should consider planning the migration of their infrastructure to Windows Server 2019 to maximize benefits at a favorable cost.